Process of making ball-bearing cones.



c. s. 'swENsolm PROCESS 0F MAKING BALL BEARINGCONES.

APPLICATION FILED 1ULY7| l9l6- 1,228,352. Patented May 29, 1917.

AIIIIII i operation; Fig. 7

s PATENT our CARL G. SWEN SON, OF IN DIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, ASSIGN OR T0 THE OAKES COMPANY,

0F INDIANAPOLIS,

INDIANA, A CORPORATION OF INDIANA.

PROCESS IDF MAKING BALL-BEARING CONES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Y 1 Application filed July 7, 1916. Serial No. 108,041.

To all w/wm t may concern:

Be it known that I, CARL Gr. SwENsoN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Indianapolis, in the county of Marion and State of Indiana, have invented a new and useful Process of Making Ball-Bearing Cones, of which the following is a specification.

It is the object of my inventionto produce a pressed steel ball-bearing cone from sheet metal.

The accompanying drawing illustrates the various steps of my invention, the apparatus used for carrying it out, and also the initial disk of sheet metal and the final producta pressed steel ball-bearing cone. In the drawing, Figure 1 is a section through the first set of dies, for performing the first two punching operations, with the double-acting punch raised; Fig. 2 is a similar view through the same set of dies, with the punch lowered and the second step of the operation completed; Fig. 3 is a similar section through the second pair of dies for performing the third punching operation, with the punch raised after completing its operation; Fig. t is a similar section through the third setvof dies, for performing the fourth punching operation; Fig. 5 is a similar section through the fourth set of dies. for performing the fifth punching operation; Fig. 6 is a similar section through the fifth set of dies, for performing the last punching is a perspective view of the sheet metal disk produced by the first step of the operation, as the starting vpoint for the process; and Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the finished ball-bearing cone produced by my process from the sheet metal disk shown in Fig. 7.

The sheet metal plate 10 i thickness is first placed on the lower die 11 .vide material for the ball of suitable v from the die 11 into a receptacle below. They two steps illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 may be separated, but are preferably parts of one continuous operation, as illustrated.

Then the cup 15 is placed closed end downward on the lower die 20 of the second set of dies, and the cooperating punch 21 descends upon it to force it into the die 20 to produce the bell 22, as shown in Fig. 3. ToV do this the punch 21 is. smaller than the upper end ofthe die 20, so that it can pass into it freely, andthe opening in such die is contracted downward so as to compress the cup 15 into the bell 22 of smaller diameter, thereby thickening the walls to prorace, the body of the cone, andthe polygonal flange to be formed afterward. In order to obtain this compression effectively, it is essential that the cup 15 be Substantially parallel-sided, so that when the punch 2l acts axiallyon it' in the die 20 with the parallel elements of the side walls thereof, so that the contracting opening in the 4die 22 may act radially on such walls to force them inward and thicken them at the desired points. When the bell 22 has been formed, the punch 21 is raised and the bell forced upward out'of the die 20. The bell` 22 when formed has a bell-shaped exterior and a substantially straight-sided interior surface, as illustrated in Fig. 3.

When the bell 22 has been formed and re` die 2o, it is placed closedl end downward 1n the the pressure will be in linev die 25 of the third set of dies,vfitting in such die, and a punch strlpper plate 27. Conveniently, lthe die 25 and the punch 26 are tilted from the vertical,

it, and `such bell is stripped off such punch by the vstripped from the punch 26 by the stripper plate 27 it will not fall back into the hole i in the die 25 but will slide olf the upper surface of such die into a receive it; however, this is a detail which.

receptacle placed to is a mere convenience, so Athat it is not illustratedL The portion which is stamped out of the crown or closed end'of the bell 22 in producing the perforated bell 28 falls through the die 25.

The perforated bell 28 after being stripped from the punch 26'is placed on the lower die 30 of the fourth set of dies. rlhis die 30 has a convex portion 3l for forming the ball race in the finished cone. A punch 32 is caused to descend upon the die 30 tocause the perforated bell 28 to beforced into the. such die and the material atthe Har hole in ing end of the bell to be spread out into a fiat portion 33, which -is to form the polygonal flange on the finished cone. The punch 32 has a central projection 34 which extends into the hole in the flaring end of the bell, and within :the die 30 there is a movable member' 35 which normally forms the bottom of such die and has a central upwardly projecting portion 36 extending into the hole at what was originally1 the closed end of the bell, so as to force outward against the die portion'l the material at such end and thus produce a compression of the metal at the ball race which is formed at such portion 3l. By this compression, following the previous operations, the grain of the metal at the ball race formed by the portion 3lis materiallyA changed from its original'character,

` the grain being made finer and the material harder as a result, so that the ball race may the better resist wear. When by reamn of the'descent of the punch 32 the perforated sirable to anneal bell 28 has been pressed into the shape shown in Fig. 5 to form the rough flanged cone 37, such punch is raised, and then the rough flanged cone is forced upward out of the die 30 by causing the movable member 35 to move upward.

The rough Hanged cone is now placed on the lower die 40 of the fifth and last set of dies, which die 40 has a polygonal opening through it, and a polygonal punch 4l is caused to descend upon Ait to cut oli the surplus of the rough flange 33 to produce the finished polygonal or other non-circular flange42.

The cone with the'inished flange is now 'placed in a tapping machine ream'ed and tapped to produce an internal thread 43.

The finished ball-bearing 'cone 44 thus produced is shown in Fig. 8.

l In carrying out my process, I find it deintermediate sta es Vof the process; preferably rst after t e cup 15 has been formed and again after the perforated bell 2 8 has thus reduced.

the article at one or two meente i been formed, and when the finished ballbearing cone has been produced ll preferably case-harden it.

I claim as my invention:

l. The process of making pressed steel ball-bearing cones, comprising stamping out a sheet metal disk, pressing the disk through va die to form a cup the side walls of which have substantially parallel' elements, annealing the cup, ,forcing the cup into a contracting die by pressure in alinement with the parallel elements of the side walls of the cup to compress the cup into a member which is bell-shaped exteriorly and substantially straight-sided interiorly, punching a hole through the closed` end of this bell, annealing the perforated-bell, forcing the perforated bell into a die which has a convex portion to form a ball race and an interior portion which acts on the recently perforated end of the bell to force the adjacent metal out into the ball race, spreading' out the lia-ring end of the perforated bell to form a plane flange, punching out this ange into the desired non-circular shape, and screwthreading internally the ball-bearing cone he process of making pressed steel ball-bearing cones,comprising stamping out a sheet metal disk, pressing the disk through a die to form a cup the side walls of which have substantially parallel elements, forcing the cup into a contracting die by pressure l in alinement with the parallel elements of the side walls of the cup to. compress the cup into a memberwhich is bell-shaped eigteriorly, punching a hole through the closed end of this bell, forcing the perforated bell into Ia die which has a convex portion to form a ball race, spreading out the 'flaring end of the perforated bell to form a plane flange, punching out this ange into the de- Sired non-circular shape, and screw-threading internally the ball-bearing cone thus produced.

3. The process of making pressed steel ball-bearing cones, comprising stamping out a sheet metal disk-pressing the disk through a die to form a cup the side walls of which have substantially parallel elements, annealing the cup, forcing the cup into a contracting die by pressure in alinement with the parallel elements of the side walls of the cup to compress the cup into a member which is bell-shaped eXteriorly, punching a hole through` the closed end of this bell, annealing the perforated be1l,forcing the perforated bell into a die which has a convex` portion to forma ball race, spreading out the flaring end of the perforated bell to form a plane flange, punc ing out this flange into the desired non-circular shape, and screwthreading internally the ball-bearing cone thus produced.

4. The process -of making pressed steel ,into a die which has a form a ball race,

ball-bearing cones, comprising stamping out a sheet metal disk, pressing the disk through a die to form a cup the side Walls of which have substantially parallel elements, forcing the cup into a contracting die by pressure iny alinement With the parallel elements of the side walls of the cup to compress the cup into a member which is bell-shaped exteriorly and substantially straight-sided interiorly, punching a hole through the closed end of this bell, forcing the perforated bell into a die which has a convex portion to form a ball race, spreading out the Haring end of the perforated bell toform a plane flange, punching out this flange into the desired non-circular shape, and screw-threading internally the ball-bearing cone thus` produced.

5. The ball-bearing cones, comprising stamping out a sheet metal disk, pressing the disk through a die to form a cup the side Walls of which have substantially parallel elements, forcing the cup into a contracting die by pressure in alinement with the parallel elements of the side Walls of the cup to compress the cup into a member .which is bell-shaped exteriorly, punching a hole through the closed end of this bell, forcing the perforated bell convex portion to and having an interior portion which acts on the recently perforated end of the bell to force the adjacent metal out into the ball race, spreading out the flaring end of the perforated bell to form a plane flange, punching out this flange into the desired non-circular shape, and screwthreading internally the ball-bearing cone thus produced.

6. 'lhe process of making pressed steel ball-bearing cones, comprising stamping out a sheet metal disk, pressing the disk through a. die to form a cup the side Walls of which have substantially parallel elements, forcing the cup into a contracting die by pressure in alinement with the sides of the cup to compress the cup into a member which4 is bell-shaped exteriorly, punching a hole through the closed end of this bell, forcing the perforated bellinto a die Which has a process of making pressed steel convex portion to form a ball race, and

spreading out the Haring end of the perforated bell to form a Vplane Hangs.

7. The process of making pressed steel ball-bearing cones, comprising stamping out a sheet metal blank, pressing it into the form of a cup the side Walls of which have elements all substantially parallel to the cup axis, vvcompressing the cup by co-acting axial and radial forces to thicken the Walls and produce a bell-shaped member, perforating such bell-shaped member at its crown, compressing this perforated end of the bellshaped member by co-acting axial, outward, and inward forces and forming an external ball race therein, and forcing back into a plane the flaring end of the bell.

8.' The articles, comprising stamping out a sheet metal disk, pressing the disk through a die to form a cup the side Walls of Which have substantially parallel elements, and compressing this cup in a die by a punch with the parallel elements of the side Walls of the cup in alinement with the direction of pressure of the punch.

l9. The process of making pressed steel articles, comprising stamping out a sheet metal disk, pressing the disk into the form of a lcup the side walls of which have substantially parallel elements, and compressing this cup in a die by a punch acting in alinement With the parallel elements of the side Walls of said cup to thicken such sidewalls and force the metal of the cup outward.

10. The process of making pressed steel articles, comprising stamping out a sheet metal disk, pressing the disk to form a cup the side Walls substantially parallel elements, compressing this cup in a. die by apunch with the parallel elements of the side Walls of the cup in alinement with the direction of pressure of the punch, forming a hole through this member, and screw-threading such hole.

ln Witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Indianapolis, Indiana, this 19th day of June, A. D. oney thousand nine hundred and sixteen.

CARL G. SWEN SON.

process of making pressed steel through al die of which have Y 

